Community

Today is a very special day in which we remember the amazing courage and sacrifice of our brothers and sisters in the armed forces. It is all too easy to forget the cost of freedom amid the chaos of our daily lives, but holidays like today remind us of how much of our lives we take for granted.

Helping severely injured veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan is the mission of Homes for Our Troops. Started in 2004, the organization builds mortgage-free and specially adapted houses for multiple amputees and veterans with traumatic brain injuries. It also adapts existing homes for handicap accessibility. Home for Our Troops has built nearly 170 homes since its founding, with another 50 currently underway.

This organization, started by retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel John Folsom in 2003, helps the families of those men and women who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations. It provides, free of charge, family-friendly retreats where wounded veterans, spouses, and children can reconnect with each other in a low-stress setting that they would otherwise not be able to afford.The goal is to offer these families a way to bond again and help heal the emotional and psychological trauma inflicted by war.

Puppies Behind Bars (PBB) trains prison inmates to raise service dogs for wounded war veterans and explosive-detection canines for law enforcement. The puppies live in prison with inmates from the age of eight weeks to 24 months. Once trained, the service dogs are placed, free of charge, with returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.​The dogs learn special commands to help mitigate the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and TBI (traumatic brain injury). Since 2008, the organization has paired 66 service dogs with wounded veterans in 26 states, and trained more than 350 explosive-detection dogs to work with law enforcement agencies around the country.

This 10-year-old organization serves the 2.4 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan from their first day home through the rest of their lives. Founded by an Iraq veteran, the group's mission is to provide new veterans with health, education, and employment support. IAVA also encourages ways for them to connect with other veterans in their area.